PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Juan González Gómez

Also known as Juan Gonzalez Gomez, Juan González, Obijuan

Juan González Gómez is a robotics researcher whose work connects bio-inspired control, machine learning and open hardware. From 1999, he worked with Andrés Prieto-Moreno Torres on competitive robotics projects and earned a telecommunications engineering degree in 2001. He developed Cube Revolutions, completed a robotics PhD at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2008, and coauthored a 2011 paper on machine learning for humanoid walking modes. He became the public face of Clone Wars, worked on Alhambra and FPGAWars, and received the 2017 O'Reilly Open Source Award. As of October 2026, he is a researcher and technical staff member in Universidad Rey Juan Carlos's Research Group on Software Development.

Born
1973

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1999–2001

    Competition robotics projects

    From 1999, he works with Andrés Prieto-Moreno Torres on projects that advance competitive robotics. He earns a telecommunications engineering degree in 2001 and later works in robotics research and development.

  2. March 2004

    Cube Revolutions

    In March 2004, he presents Cube Revolutions publicly at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Faculty of Computer Science. The limbless modular robot moves as waves travel along its body.

  3. November 2008

    A robotics doctorate

    In November 2008, he defends a robotics PhD at the Escuela Politécnica Superior of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. His thesis explores modular locomotion controllers based on bio-inspired central pattern generators.

  4. 2011

    Machine learning for humanoid walking

    In 2011, he coauthors a paper on machine-learning methods for humanoid robot walking modes with Francisco Rivas and José M. Cañas.

  5. May 2013–January 2014

    Clone Wars and BQ

    In May 2013, he becomes the public face of Clone Wars, a Spanish-language community with more than 190 printer clones and 1,000 people participating at varying levels. In January 2014, he is BQ's innovation manager and the creator of Clone Wars; he joins Fundación Telefónica's round table on makers, the Internet of Things and personal manufacturing.

  6. 2016–2017

    Open FPGA projects

    In 2016–2017, his public work includes the Alhambra and FPGAWars projects on open FPGAs.

  7. 2017

    An O'Reilly Open Source Award

    In 2017, he receives the O'Reilly Open Source Award for his contribution to free software.

  8. As of October 2026

    Research at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

    As of October 2026, he is a researcher and technical staff member in the Research Group on Software Development at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The university lists him among the technical staff for the 2023–2027 project “Dependencias en colecciones complejas de módulos software”.

Career

  1. NowUniversidad Rey Juan CarlosResearcher and technical staff member

Education

  1. 2008Autonomous University of MadridPhD

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Autonomous University of Madrid. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Juan González Gómez yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. LNRC | Contenido robotsleague.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. CUBE REVOLUTIONS: El robot ápodo modular iearobotics.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Juan Gonzalez:PhD Thesis - WikiRobotics iearobotics.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Investigación | Obijuan obijuan.github.io. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Cómo y por cuánto crear tu impresora 3D eldiario.es. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Sesión 2: Makers: Internet de las Cosas y manufactura personal fundaciontelefonica.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Juan González: Trabajar en el TecnoLab de La Rueca me enriquece como persona larueca.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Profesores e Investigadores — Universidad Rey Juan Carlos servicios.urjc.es. Checked 21 October 2026.